National policy on water and sanitation

CHAMINDA PERERA

Water Supply Minister Mahinda Amaraweera yesterday refuted media reports that the Government is contemplating the privatisation of water resources.

The Minister said the Government has not taken a decision to impose any kind of tax on water on domestic or common toilet usage.

The National Policy on Water and Sanitation being formulated by the Ministry of Water Supply will ensure right of each and every citizen to have better drinking water and sanitary facilities.

The national policy on Sanitation which has been divided into two categories namely Rural Sanitary Policy and Urban Sanitary Policy guarantee that every citizen should have free access to better sanitary facilities.

The National Sanitation Policy has proposed to charge a minimum fee from the houses and institutions in densely populated areas which have linked their toilets to the piped sewerage system.

The imposition of this fee ensures proper maintenance of this system, the Minister said.

The Ministry also seeks public opinion, views and suggestion to be included in the national Policy on Water and Sanitation before it is approved by the Government.

The Minister said successive governments have not paid proper attention to the sewerage system in urban areas. The Government has planned to implement sewerage systems in the major cities in the country with foreign aid.